Orthopedic surgery looks to the future and will no longer be able to look back. For the first time in Campania, a revolutionary surgical technique based on the use of augmented reality has been used to perform knee arthroplasty.
Professor Donato Notarfrancesco, at the “Salus” clinic in Battipaglia, performed two ultra-modern surgical operations on two patients (two women aged 67 and 72 respectively) suffering from long-standing and almost irreversible knee problems.
The surgeon from Salerno operated on the two patients with the aid of a visor (NextAR smartglasses) through which he had access to very detailed information on the operation to be performed (already planned in the pre-operative phase) and, thanks to the “parallel” augmented reality, it was possible to customize the insertion of the prosthesis to the millimeter, according to the anatomy of the patients.
Specifically, through the NextAR™️ platform, owned by the Swiss company Medacta, advanced 3D planning tools were used based on the uniqueness of the patient's anatomy.
This is a revolutionary system for tracking surgical instruments that uses augmented reality. In addition to improving precision and efficiency in the operating room, this revolutionary technology guarantees excellent results in terms of limb stability and mobility, as well as a shorter post-operative recovery time, thus allowing a quicker return to daily activities.
After these interventions in Battipaglia, a new frontier opens in the operating room for the treatment of knee problems for the elderly, sports enthusiasts and patients in general.
“The surgery went very well. After putting on the augmented reality glasses – Professor Notarfrancesco commented – my vision was enriched with a series of useful information on the patient's knee that allowed me to make decisions in real time, adapting what was previously planned, in order to make the knee even more stable. It is surprising how this innovative technology allows us to proceed with extreme precision and tranquility without having to change the consolidated modus operandi".
Greater stability of the limb, regained mobility and shorter recovery times, therefore, but the effects of using NextAR™️ are not only these: at the heart of the technique is the care for the specificities of each patient and therefore the absolute personalization of the intervention. “The technique – Professor Notarfrancesco added – guarantees a pre-established and customized alignment of the knee to be operated on, and therefore not standardized”.
It is no coincidence that NextAR™️ Knee is the first augmented reality surgical platform approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the US government agency) for the procedures of total knee replacement surgery.
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The innovative technology consists of two phases:
1. Preparation: starting from preliminary acquired CT images, 3D models of the patient's knee are created, which are used to create the correct pre-operative planning, necessary for the surgeon to optimally determine the positioning of the prosthetic implant.
2. Procedure: the surgeon wears a pair of augmented reality glasses (NextAR™️ Smart Glasses) that allow him to view in real time all the useful and necessary information for performing the surgery in line with the pre-operative plan. At the same time, based on the data he views in real time, he can make changes at any time during the surgery.
Thanks to this system, it is also possible to evaluate the behavior of the collateral ligaments with extreme precision, in order to determine the correct stability and balance of the treated knee.
“The intervention – Professor Notarfrancesco concluded – is performed under spinal anesthesia with the use of the ischemic band. After exposing the joint, the pre-formed masks from the CT analysis sent to the data collection center are placed on the bone surfaces of the tibia and femur and their precise orientation is checked with respect to the preoperative planning with the dedicated instruments”.
The absolute guarantee of the effectiveness of the technology is given by the company that creates it: Medacta, in fact, is an international company founded in 1999 in Switzerland and operating in over 40 countries worldwide, active in joint prosthetics, spinal surgery and sports medicine. Medacta's innovation, which is based on close collaboration with internationally experienced surgeons, began with minimally invasive surgical techniques and has evolved into personalized solutions for each patient.
Furthermore, NextAR™️ technology guarantees sustainable economic costs, demonstrating the great attention to the sustainability of Medacta's healthcare systems. In addition to improving efficiency and precision in the operating room, it requires a limited initial capital investment and a reduced cost per intervention. NextAR™️ is currently available for knee procedures but will soon be extended to hip, shoulder and spine procedures.
The choice of the clinic for the debut of this technique that will revolutionize knee care in Campania was not a coincidence: the Orthopedics and Traumatology Unit of the Salus Nursing Home, directed by Doctor Notarfrancesco (assisted by Doctors Zara, Oliviero and De Pasquale), deals with Prosthetic and Minimally Invasive Surgery of the hip and knee, with ten years of experience in the use of “Computer Assisted” surgery.
Experience that has earned the participation in international conferences on the subject and the publication of several scientific articles in impacted journals. The Division is also a Reference Center on Minimally Invasive hip surgery with AMIS technique.
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